Foreign and Commonwealth Office

European Union

Lord Boswell of Aynho: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total cost of the Review of the Balance of Competences between the United Kingdom and the European Union to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and its associated agencies, broken down by (1) staff time, (2) printing costs, (3) running of engagement events, (4) witness expenses, (5) publicity of the reports, and (6) any and all other associated costs.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Balance of Competences Review concluded in December. It was the most comprehensive analysis of the UK’s relationship with the EU ever undertaken. The Review involved a large number of Departments across Whitehall to produce the 32 reports. The Review was based on the evidence and views received through widespread consultation with interested parties from across society. Across the whole review, departments received close to 2,300 evidence submissions. Departments held over 250 events, attended by around 2,100 stakeholders.The breakdown of costs requested are as follows:(1) Providing a full breakdown of staff time and costs would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold, but the staff cost of the Review was borne entirely within existing staff budgets.(2) The printing and publication costs for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) were £20,366. These costs covered copies of all 32 reports.(3) The FCO spent approximately £15,740 on running engagement events.(4) Across the whole of the Balance of Competences Review witness expenses amounted to approximately £2,255 which were borne by the FCO.(5) The FCO did not spend any money on publicity of the reports utilising existing free social media and internet channels.(6) The FCO spent approximately £17,450 on other associated costs.

Russia

The Lord Bishop of Worcester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking, as a member of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, to bring about renewed discussions with Russia on a possible Euro-Atlantic security community.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK has regular discussions with Russia and all other participating States under the auspices of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), including through the Helsinki +40 process, towards the goal of a security community as outlined at the OSCE Astana Summit 2010. I recently met Michael Link, the Director of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and emphasised the need to uphold the OSCE’s comprehensive approach to security and the rule of law through strong commitments and institutions. The UK continues to underline to Russia that its illegal annexation of Crimea and its destabilising actions in eastern Ukraine are unacceptable, and a violation of fundamental OSCE principles and commitments. Additionally, in December 2014 the OSCE Chairmanship-in-Office launched an Eminent Persons Panel, with a remit to make recommendations on how to take forward an inclusive and constructive dialogue across the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian regions, and to reflect on how to ensure effective adherence to the Helsinki Principles that OSCE participating States have signed up to. The UK looks forward to engaging with the work of the panel this year.

Eastern Europe

The Lord Bishop of Worcester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking, under the umbrellas of NATO and the European Union, to strengthen commitments and reassurances to Moldova, Georgia, and the Baltic states which could be vulnerable to further destabilising Russian action in those regions.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: At the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Wales Summit, the Alliance launched the “Readiness Action Plan” (RAP). This included an increase to the package of assurance measures for Eastern Allies in response to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and aggressive actions in Eastern Ukraine. All 28 Allies are supporting the effort. As in 2014, this year the UK will contribute four Royal Air Force Typhoons to Baltic Air Policing from May and deploy over 3000 troops to exercises in Eastern Europe.As part of the RAP, Allies also agreed to establish a new Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), able to deploy at very short notice in response to a range of threats faced by the Alliance. At the NATO Defence Ministers meeting on 5 February the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Mr Fallon), confirmed that the UK will lead the VJTF in 2017 and also contribute to new forward integration units in the three Baltic States, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, and to the regional headquarters in Poland and Romania.At the NATO Summit, the Alliance also agreed a ‘Substantial Package’ of support for Georgia to strengthen her defence capabilities, and interoperability with the Alliance, and provide a new “enhanced partnership” status. Separately Allies agreed to establish Defence Capacity Building (DCB) Missions in Georgia and Moldova. The UK will contribute £250,000 to a new Trust Fund to facilitate this and manpower to the Georgian DCB Mission.Georgia and Moldova have chosen to pursue closer ties with the EU. These countries have decided of their own free will to sign Association Agreements in order to support their own reform programmes and to seek closer political association and economic integration with the EU. We fully support the sovereign choices of Georgia and Moldova and strongly believe that no third country should have a veto over their decisions.The EU provides continuing financial and technical support to the implementation of these reform programmes. Under the European Neighbourhood Instrument, the European Commission currently plans to allocate a minimum of €610 million for each country, with up to €746 million of funding available depending on the pace of reform. On 6 May 2014, the European Commission announced an additional support package for Georgia and Moldova, worth €60 million. The UK is providing technical assistance, in areas such as trade and human rights, to both Georgia and Moldova in their implementation of the Association Agreement reform programmes. In Georgia, the UK Regional Conflict Advisor for the South Caucasus continues to engage in dialogue with the conflict-affected communities. We also fund secondees to the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia. We have a number of projects in Moldova (including in the Transnistrian region) that work to increase engagement and build confidence between the sides of the Nistru (Moldova and the Transnistrian region).The UK plans to complete the ratification process for both Association Agreements with Georgia and Moldova before the General Election.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Consumer Goods

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the oral statement by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 19 November 2014 (HL Deb, col 505), whether they will confirm the terms of reference for their review of unsafe product recall, and name the chair of the review and the date by which it will report.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: I expect the review of consumer product recalls to be launched in early March 2015, The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) will make public the Terms of Reference, the name of the Chair and the timescale for the Review at that time.

Post Offices: Bank Services

Lord Teverson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that Post Office accounts can accept monies belonging to customers of credit unions and other providers of low cost lending when those customers and members need to be paid back monies due to them.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Post Office is one of the leading challengers in the UK financial services market and offers services under its Post Office Money brand and also services on behalf of third parties. Presently more than 95% of UK current accounts are accessible across Post Office’s counters. Post Office already works with a number of Credit Unions, and customers of these organisations are able to undertake basic financial transactions at Post Office branches. Post Office is also working with the Association of British Credit Unions on its Credit Union expansion project; this is ongoing and Post Office hopes to play a role in any solutions identified.   All of Post Office’s contracts – including with Credit Unions – are commercial arrangements and it would not be appropriate for Government to intervene in these. We support Post Office’s strategy to grow its successful financial services business to reach more customers, including potentially those of the Credit Union sector.

Students: Loans

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have taken any steps to reduce the time taken to process applications for student loans.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Student Loans Company is currently undergoing a business-wide Transformation programme intended to make it a digital centre of excellence, in line with the Government Digital Strategy. This includes an overhaul of its online assessment and application portals, in order to make them more efficient, customer-focussed and digital in design. All of these changes will enable significant improvements in the processing time of student loan applications. Recent improvements, for example, have increased immediate income-verification rates for sponsors from 75% last year to 81% in 2014-15.   Moreover, the Government plans to modify the Student Support Regulations to allow the use of electronic signatures for student loan applications. This means that students will no longer need to print, sign and return the completed loan contract by post, or wait for confirmation of its receipt. In the future, many applicants will be able to complete the entire application process and have an approved loan in a single sitting.

Department for Education

Children: Protection

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve child safety, in the light of the levels of sexual coercion reported by teenage girls in England compared to other European countries.

Lord Nash: The findings on the levels of sexual coercion reported by teenage girls in England published by the University of Central Lancashire are part of a collaborative research project involving five European countries – Norway, Italy, Bulgaria, Cyprus and England. Protection from abuse is a fundamental right for all children and the Government continues to work to improve child safety.   Our recent key actions include: Commissioning the PSHE Association to produce guidance for teachers on teaching about consent, which will be published shortly. The statutory sex and relationships education (SRE) guidance also makes clear that young people should be taught about how the law applies to sexual relationships and be taught positive values and a moral framework to guide their decisions, judgements and behaviour.Revising statutory safeguarding guidance, Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2013 and Keeping Children Safe in Education (April 2014), to provide clear frameworks for professionals and for schools to take action to protect children from abuse. These updated versions will be published shortly.To help children stay safe online, we have also put online safety on the curriculum, published advice for parents on keeping young people safe from cyberbullying, and announced £500,000 extra funding in December 2014 to the UK Safer Internet Centre to provide guidance and training for schools. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Command of the National Crime Agency has developed a specific educational resource to tackle ‘sexting’, which is designed for use by teachers.We are committed to improving the child protection system and are working with local leaders and professionals on a radical programme of reform, including improving social worker training and children’s services. The overall aim of this work is to bring about long-term change to help vulnerable children.

Ministry of Justice

Nottingham Prison

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken in response to the report of HM Inspectorate of Prisons on HMP Nottingham in respect of its conclusion that HMP Nottingham was failing most of its core responsibilities.

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken in response to the report of HM Inspectorate of Prisons on HMP Nottingham in respect of its conclusion that during the working day about half of the prisoners held there were locked in their cells with nothing to do.

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken in response to the report of HM Inspectorate of Prisons on HMP Nottingham in respect of its conclusion that levels of violence, including assaults on prisoners and staff, were very high.

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken in response to the report of HM Inspectorate of Prisons on HMP Nottingham in respect of its conclusion that cells were routinely overcrowded and prisoners had inadequate access to clean bedding and clean clothes.

Lord Faulks: The National Offender Management Service has taken immediate action to improve the situation. An experienced temporary Governor was urgently appointed to bring stability and to implement rapid improvements. Subsequently, a new permanent Governor was appointed on 1 February 2015. A review of the staffing levels needed to complete the improvement work required has led to additional staff resources being deployed to the prison. There have been fewer incidents of serious assaults on prisoners and staff, concerted indiscipline and incidents at height since the inspection and there has been a marked improvement in the overall operational stability of the establishment. As with all inspection reports, NOMS will now produce an action plan in response to the recommendations. Improvements in staffing levels have allowed an increase in the amount of time that prisoners can participate in recreational activities, such as using the gymnasium. It has also enabled prisoners to undertake more educational workshops to enhance employability skills. . Since the Inspection, HMP Nottingham’s Violence Reduction (VR) Policy has been rewritten and implemented and, in line with the national NOMS VR Policy, requires staff to challenge all forms of violence and apply appropriate sanctions. Additional resources have been allocated to monitoring and managing violence reduction and safer custody. Use of the Independent Adjudicator and/or referral to the Police for consideration of prosecution for violent incidents has increased dramatically. HMP Nottingham continues to challenge all forms of violence and actively promotes a zero tolerance to it. The prison is forging stronger links with the local Police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that, where appropriate, prisoners involved in violence are prosecuted. The operational capacity of HMP Nottingham was reduced, at the time of the inspection, from 1100 to 1060. There are now regular bedding and clothing checks. This helps to recover items that have been stockpiled by prisoners, to ensure fair allocation of clean clothing and bedding. Additional clothes and bedding have also been issued.

Courts: Buildings

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the annual cost to the public purse of maintaining disused court buildings; and how many disused court buildings are currently lying empty because they have not been sold.

Lord Faulks: The Court Estate Reform Programme (CERP) was introduced in 2010 to improve efficiency through the closure of poor quality and underused court buildings. The total cumulative gross benefits expected from CERP is an estimated £152m over the SR10 period. At the end of June 2014, approximately £140m had been realised through resource savings of approximately £98m and gross capital proceeds of £42m. There are 32 closed courts currently not in use. Of these, 27 were closed between May 2010 and March 2013 as part of CERP and business as usual closures. The full year cost of maintaining these courts in 2013/14 was £942,162. A further five courts were closed since then. The cost of maintaining these courts since their closure to date has been £122,444. All closed courts are being prepared for or undergoing sale processes. The cost of maintaining courts following closure includes costs on rent and rates, maintenance, labour costs on facilities management, fuel and utilities and other property costs. One court, Stourbridge County Court, was closed but is being used for administrative purposes. The Department is committed to disposing of surplus property assets expeditiously and reducing holding costs. The sale of former courts is dependent on a number of factors e.g. market, potential future use, location and the fact that some are occupied in part by the police and local authorities which also make disposal difficult. We have improved efficiency through the closure of poor quality and underused court buildings.

Probation

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of report writers and court staff have received training arising from the implementation of the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014.

Lord Faulks: All staff have received comprehensive guidance on the implementation of the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014. A cadre of staff received central training to enable them to train other staff, as required, in the Act’s provisions. We do not hold statistics for the total number of staff who have been trained under this system.

Probation

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what budgets have been set for professional development for (1) qualified, and (2) trainee, probation officers.

Lord Faulks: Under the Government’s Transforming Rehabilitation reforms, probation staff are now employed either by the National Probation Service (NPS) or one of the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs).Probation Officers in the NPS are supported by the National Offender Management Service’s Human Resources Learning & Development team, which delivers professional skills training for the NPS. Funding for this work is found from within the National Offender Management Service’s overall Human Resources budget.In addition, all NPS staff have free access to Civil Service Learning which includes a range of generic face to face and e-learning modules covering a wide range of subjects.The professional development of probation officers employed by the 21 CRCs is the responsibility of those companies.As regards trainee Probation Officers, their training and development is overseen by the National Offender Management Service, through the Probation Qualification Framework (PQF). Recruits undertake on-the-job training and study, leading to graduation in 15 months as qualified probation officers. The final budget for delivery of the PQF will depend on the total number of trainees recruited. Last autumn, we made over 270 training places available for new probation officers and a similar number in January this year. A further intake is planned for April. This represents the biggest investment in the professionalism of the probation workforce for some considerable time. The NPS will continue to use the PQF and the CRCs are also free to do so should they choose.

Probation

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements are in place to ensure and to monitor the timely production of court reports.

Lord Faulks: The Performance Framework for the National Probation Service (NPS) includes a target for timely delivery of court reports. Data relating to this measure is collected from operational case management systems. This data is validated and used by NPS Performance and Quality Managers to monitor and enhance performance against the target.

Home Office

Illegal Immigrants

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to deal with illegal immigrants who are forced to work in brothels or used for pickpocketing.

Lord Bates: Regardless of an individual’s immigration status, all victims of human trafficking are entitled to support and assistance. This support, provided through the National Referral Mechanism, includes appropriate and safe accommodation, material assistance (including financial assistance), assistance in obtaining healthcare services, and access to translation and interpretation services.The Government published a review of the National Referral Mechanism in November 2014, which called for wide ranging reforms to the identification and support of victims, including the extension of support to all victims of modern slavery. The Home Office has accepted all recommendations in principle and will establish pilots to test the recommendations as part of a planned implementation of these changes.The Government is determined to stamp out modern slavery and has outlined its comprehensive approach to achieve this aim in the Modern Slavery Strategy, published in November 2014.The Modern Slavery Bill, currently being considered by Parliament, will give law enforcement the tools to tackle modern slavery, ensure that perpetrators can receive suitably severe sentences for these appalling crimes, and enhance support and protection for victims.

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Libraries

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of library closures on educational standards across the United Kingdom.

Baroness Jolly: The DCMS has not made any assessment of the impact of library closures on educational standards across the United Kingdom. Every Library Authority has a duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service.

Department of Health

Nutrition

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many civil servants working in the diet and nutrition fields were transferred from the Food Standards Agency to the Department of Health following the machinery of government changes in July 2010; and how many remain working in the same fields at present.

Earl Howe: 53 civil servants working in the diet and nutrition fields were transferred from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to the Department in 2010. Of these, seven currently work on diet and nutrition in the Department. There was a second machinery of Government change in April 2013, at which time 23 of those who transferred to the Department from the FSA then transferred to Public Health England.

Nutrition

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the diet and nutrition budget in the Department of Health in June 2010; how much that sum increased by incorporating budgets transferred from the Food Standards Agency to the Department of Health following the machinery of government changes in July 2010; and what is the current level.

Earl Howe: The Department’s programme budget for diet and nutrition in 2010-11 was £700,000 and the Food Standards Agency budget that transferred to the Department following the machinery of Government changes in 2010 was £10.126 million. The 2014-15 programme budget for diet and nutrition is £70,000 in the Department and £4.8 million in Public Health England. These budgets do not include staffing costs.